Sure, the Lexus’ time is about three ticks off that of last year’s BMW M4 (1:39.69), but it’s still quicker than the Audi RS 5 (1:43.60) and the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Edition 507 (1:43.49) that we lapped back in 2013.

Problem is, the Lexus’ speed doesn’t translate to emotion, a much-needed qualifier when ranking contenders for Best Driver’s Car. Per Jonny Lieberman: “I want engagement. I want to be thrilled. What I don’t want is to get out of the car thinking, ‘That’s much faster than I thought.’ That’s the problem with the RC F.”

While I disagree completely with the idea that the RC F lacks emotion and take issue to many of the editor complaints, it was a undeniably tough competition this year — the Mercedes-AMG GT 3 and Porsche Cayman GT4 finished first and second respectively.